


Fairy Tales

by Metalkatt



Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Post AWE.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-09-23
Updated: 2007-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:29:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27885289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metalkatt/pseuds/Metalkatt
Summary: Teague tells a story.





	Fairy Tales

Liam rocked back a bit on the old pirate's knee to look him more fully in the eye, one hand on the arm of the chair to keep his balance. "But, what happened to Peter after he left Neverland?"

Teague laughed, slumping back in the large, ornately-carved chair. Candles flickered around them, leaving the room warm, but still slightly dim. A gentle breeze blew through the window, causing the flames to dance and cast shadows that never stayed still. "Never content with the end of a story, are you, boy?"

"Well, he is my son," Elizabeth murmured, a smile playing on her lips. She'd put down the pen and paper halfway through the tale, making no further effort at the documents in front of her. She rested her chin in her hands as her elbows balanced on the table, as much attention given to the telling as she'd given as a young child.

"Aye." Teague turned his muddy eyes back onto the inquiring gaze of the boy. "All right, then. I told you Pan didn't kill Hook, simply took his children and left for his own time." He heard Liam take a breath to speak, probably to hurry the story along, and sent him a glare. "Keep your mouth shut, or you won't hear any of it." Satisfied of no more distractions, he continued. "Pan again left the place that'd once been his home, and returned to the marvellous machines of humankind, and those machines did him in. You remember the horseless carriages?"

Liam nodded, lips firmly pressed shut. Teague had trained him well during his occasional visits, imparting the importance of showing the respect deserved by someone willing to settle in and spin a yarn for the amusement of others.

The old pirate continued, his voice like gravel crunching against itself. "They go very, very fast, far faster than anyone not on the ocean has a right to travel. When they run together, it's worse than a ship ramming another. Pan died less than a year after he took his children back; punishment of a sort, I suppose, for living so long."

There was the sharp slap of flesh against wood. "But, that's not fair!" Both males turned to look upon the blonde, who was staring at the older man accusingly. She had brought her hands down in front of her, ire flashing in her eyes. "You can't just have the hero die like that."

"Iffen this were just a story, I might agree with you," the old man grumbled, glaring right back. "However, life isn't fair, something you best be learning right quick if you haven't already. Now, do you plan on ruining this for your son, or will you shut up and listen?"

Elizabeth compressed her mouth into a line and resumed her posture of listening. Her eyes were still angry, brows furrowed.

"Go on, Captain," Liam urged, deflecting the man's annoyance.

Teague looked back down at the young Turner and nodded. "Pan died, aye. It was sad for everyone, not least of which was Hook. Pan was his foil, the reason for existing--they had lived for millennia just to hate and snipe at each other. At odds, he was still deciding what to do when he heard a voice calling to him. Took him some time to find it, and when he did, he found the boy he'd almost won away."

"Peter's son?"

A nod. "Jack Banning called out to Hook, asking him to take him away, back to Neverland."

Liam tipped his head. "Why didn't he call for Tink?"

Teague shrugged. "He did. He'd shouted, spoken, and whispered her name for three days, trying to get her to answer. She'd given her soul over to Pan; when he died, the belief that fed her and kept her alive had gone. She couldn't stay alive without it. But Hook... He didn't have anything else to do, and he'd actually grown fond of the boy during the time he'd had him in Neverland. He brought him back to the Jolly Roger, raised him as a pirate should. For the most part, Banning did all right; learned how to treat a ship right, and know when a ship was alive--like the Pearl or the Dutchman or the Roger. Never lost Pan's damnable optimistic streak, though it did dull down after some years."

"How long did he stay in Neverland?" Liam's eyes sparkled bright in the candlelight, open and curious like those of a puppy.

That caused the pirate to laugh. "Time doesn't exist right in Neverland, remember? The sun rises and sets, but it never changes the day, even as years pass by. It's why Hook was so bothered by clocks. They reminded him that he was older than he should have ever been allowed to be. Having the boy as his adopted son made Hook feel young again." A snort, one that sounded self-mocking, and Teague shifted on the chair. "It was a long time before he brought the Banning boy into the mortal world again, only, back to an age like the one he had become used to: here, to our time. They never went back. Banning grew up, took a new name when the memories of Neverland and the world before had faded, and he stopped being a Lost Boy. Hook only had one regret about the whole thing--Banning never learned to fly. Would have made a world of difference if he had."

"Why?" The young woman couldn't keep her tongue, though she received a pleading look from her own son--it was obvious that he didn't want his mother to say anything that would stop the telling.

A small tic tugged the corner of the old man's mouth. "That's a story for another time," he growled firmly.

"One more question?" Liam asked, dark eyes pleading.  
  
The pirate rolled his eyes and nodded. The motion caused the features of his face to shift, the shadows from wrinkles and trinkets and moustache bringing to mind a much different man. "Aye, aye, all right."

"If Hook lives here, how come nobody's ever seen him?"  
  
Teague closed his eyes and dipped his head, a soft snort leaving him as he smiled briefly. "There's magic in the world still, boy, magic to heal anything... hands, hearts... souls." A shake of his head set his trinkets clattering. "Search for it while you still can, before it's all used up or forgotten."  
  
A frown creased Elizabeth's face, and she stood. "Come Liam, I think we've tired out the Captain enough for one night. It's time for your bath, then into bed."

Liam grimaced in annoyance, but nodded with a huff. "Night, Captain," he murmured, giving the old man a hug before sliding off his lap. He walked over to his mother, and reached up to take her hand.

"Ready?" she asked.

Liam nodded. "Aye. I wonder if Grandpa Bill knows that story... Captain makes Peter's son sound a lot like Uncle Jack." A laugh left him as they started forward toward their quarters. Neither of them saw the old pirate's bowed head or heard his soft murmur.

"Too damnably perceptive by half. Must be the Turner blood in him."


End file.
